Chelsea forced to make eight changes as Enzo Maresca faces brutal reality this week

Chelsea forced to make eight changes as Enzo Maresca faces brutal reality this week

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Chelsea have made at least nine changes to their starting XI for Conference League matches. In the eight games in the competition so far this season, three have been with a completely changed team. On four occasions only one player has remained.

Sometimes due to travel concerns – because flying more than eight hours on a plane to Kazakhstan and then back for a single 90-minute match in below freezing conditions against much weaker opposition is not ideal preparation for Premier League football – and often simply owing to the quality of teams in front of Chelsea, Enzo Maresca has freely rotated. It had been a chance to use the fringes of his squad.

However, the game time in a non-competitive environment was not enough to appeal to Joao Felix, Renato Veiga, Cesare Casadei, or Axel Disasi, all of whom have now left on loan or been sold. Their position in the ‘B-team’ had been rubbished by Maresca but between them were just eight league starts and less than 1,000 minutes combined before January window exits.

Over the course of the first five months of the season Maresca settled quickly on those who he could trust for the important weekend matches and those who were rarely getting anything even from the bench. Mykhailo Mudryk, Marc Guiu, Christopher Nkunku and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall are all in the same camp as the latter. Their only outings were in the Conference League or fleeting substitute appearances.

Nkunku is now back in the mix but that is mainly due to injuries rather than a major change of mind from the head coach. Mudryk is still suspended after testing positive for traces of a banned substance in his system, whilst Guiu is out and Dewsbury-Hall remains bit-part at best.

Carney Chukwuemeka played four times on Thursday nights but only started once. Ben Chilwell did not appear at all. Both have left on loan as well in search of more game time.

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It means that a core group of Maresca’s Conference League squad for the group phase is now unavailable. Nkunku’s role has changed since starting all but one of the six group matches, so has Filip Jorgensen’s in goal. Heading into the knockout stage it will mean a shakeup or new method of attack.

What Maresca has done is make the Conference League an opportunity for Cobham hopefuls to stake a claim in the team. Tyrique George built up the faith of the manager and is now regularly starting in Europe. Josh Acheampong came into the side after resolving a contract dispute.

Shumaira Mheuka, Harrison Murray-Campbell, Sam Rak-Sakyi, Ato Ampah, and Kiano Dyer all made appearances in the competition. Harvey Vale did too but has since left the club permanently to join Queens Park Rangers. Rak-Sakyi started once to make his full debut.

The academy options are still there and have been bolstered, if anything, by Donnell McNeilly and Ishe Samuels-Smith being involved in first-team training. The question is, how does Maresca seek a balance with the Thursday-Sunday schedule for what he hopes is the remainder of the season?

Chelsea signalled the intention to take things seriously enough when naming Cole Palmer in the squad for the knockout stages but Maresca will hope he is not needed.Does a poor run of form tempt him into giving Palmer the chance to end his goalscoring woes or is more rest and less risk the better approach?

Romeo Lavia, Wesley Fofana, and Reece James were others never in contention to feature before Christmas. Nicolas Jackson, Levi Colwill, Malo Gusto, and Moises Caicedo were all left out entirely for the group phase as well out of choice.

Jadon Sancho only played two games as he fought for a place in attack whilst Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez both earned a place in the 'A-team' before long. In general there was a clear distinction between who was in Maresca's weekend or Premier League plans for the first half of the season. A squad without as much depth and now hit by fitness problems raises new questions.

Cobham involvement could shield the main stars from the match against FC Copenhagen away in Denmark on Thursday or Maresca may go for the kill, playing a stronger team than usual in order to try and get a big first leg lead after more than a week without a match.

Mathis Amougou could get a first start but there is otherwise not a great deal of rotation to be done. Dewsbury-Hall may return to the starting XI, as might George and Acheampong, but there is a lack of midfield depth. Rak-Sakyi has trained before the match instead of playing for the Under-21s, so has Mheuka, which adds another body in the centre of the park but at least one of Fernandez or Caicedo are much more likely to play now than they were before Christmas.

Both have had time off over the FA Cup weekend but are also among the most stretched and tired. Given they will be jetting off to South America during the international break shortly as well, Maresca faces a dilemma as to how he goes about things.

In attack, unless 17-year-old Mheuka or McNeilly – yet to make a senior squad – play, then it will be down to Nkunku, Palmer, and Neto centrally to do the damage. Given they will all be expected to then play against Leicester City three days later, it is a unique situation for Maresca to manage.

It is one he got through last season at Leicester when tasked with three games in a week but has not been the case at Chelsea. The size of the squad has meant he has always been able to keep things fresh for Premier League matches. That is now less possible without the players on hand to throw into these games knowing they are more than strong enough to overcome the obstacles ahead.

Maresca struggled to keep all of his squad happy before the January window, though, and it is a case of being damned with and without them. With them he has the benefit of more bodies to rotate, allowing a focus on his main XI in the Premier League, but it led to those on the outside lacking match sharpness or the desired game intensity. Maresca also did not seem to believe most of them could help him when it mattered.

Without them and he will need to turn to teenagers without experience on such a stage – even if the talent and quality is not in doubt – or risk injury to some of his 'A-team' in matches they probably would rather not be playing. If Chelsea are to qualify for the Champions League next season then it is just another factor he will have to take into account then anyway.

For now, Maresca will struggle to continue making 10 changes per match in the Conference League. It could make or break the whole campaign.

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• UEFA Europa Conference League
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